1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a mounting system for storage units, such as lockers, cabinets and similar structures, and more particularly to a mounting system for mounting a bank of storage units above a ground surface and in a level, side-by-side arrangement. In addition, this invention relates to the combination of a bank of storage units connected to a mounting system and also to a storage unit employing a locking plate for attachment to a support surface.
2. Background Art
Storage units, such as lockers or cabinets used for personal storage are required to sit on a supporting mounting plate. This may be the floor or other ground surface of a facility in which the storage units are contained. Frequently, the storage units are mounted on concrete slabs or abutments forming part of the floor structure or separately placed or formed on the floor structure.
Stand alone lockers typically are provided with a fixed pair of front legs and a pair of adjustable back legs to permit leveling of the individual lockers.
However, when storage units, such as lockers, are intended for permanent or “built in” applications they generally are provided without legs and are mounted or secured to a raised base, such as a concrete abutment. In these latter installations it is critical for the storage units to be level and plumb. When storage units are not level or plumb there may be gaps and other misalignments between the storage units in the bank. Moreover, when the storage units are not level door function is compromised in that, at the very least, adjustments need to be made to the locking mechanisms of the doors to get them to work properly.
Unfortunately, concrete bases poured using normal construction techniques and following commonly accepted standards typically fail to meet the ideal requirement for mounting storage units, such as lockers. In the best of cases, installers need to use shims to achieve a level and plumb condition among the lockers in the bank. This can be a very time consuming and costly process and, in fact, often is not done well or not done at all.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,289,363 (Andersson et al.) discloses a locker construction in multiple different arrangements. This patent discloses a locker support comprising stands 23 held together by square section pipes 24. The Andersson '363 patent does not disclose any arrangement for leveling a support and permanently affixing it to a floor or other ground surface. Moreover, the Andersson '363 patent does not disclose any mounting system employing cooperating members for connecting a bank of storage units to the upper wall of any mounting structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,317,416 (Baum et al.) discloses a connecting mechanism for a desk top employing teardrop-shaped openings for cooperating with the heads of bolts secured into a base member. There is no disclosure that this type of locking arrangement could possibly be adapted to interconnect storage units, such as lockers and cabinets, to any supporting surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,783,034 (Ostrander et al.) discloses a slide-lock mechanism associated with a shaped base plate assembly for permitting additional articles, such a transformer 16 to be removably attached thereto. Again, this patent does not remotely suggest that the slide-lock mechanism disclosed therein, or anything similar to that, could possibly be employed to connect a storage unit, such as a locker or cabinet, to any mounting structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,524,002 (Punzel et al.) discloses a plurality of lockers including self leveling features in the bases thereof (FIG. 9). However, this patent does not disclose a mounting system for a bank of storage units, wherein the mounting system itself is provided with leveling capability, support capability and locking capability.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,828,399 (Bass) discloses a locker system wherein individual lockers have adjustable legs (FIG. 11). This is a common type of system for use in leveling individual lockers, and does not relate in any way to providing a level support for a bank of lockers in accordance with the present invention.